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U.S. Department of Labor Develops Voluntary Enterprise-wide Review Program For Top-performing Contractors

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced today the release of a new policy directive to establish a voluntary compliance program for high-performing federal contractors. The Voluntary Enterprise-wide Review Program (VERP) provides contractors with an alternative to OFCCP's establishment-based compliance evaluations with a focus on recognizing contractors that demonstrate comprehensive corporate-wide compliance and model diversity and inclusion programs.

"The Voluntary Enterprise-wide Review Program provides meaningful incentives for federal contractor participants and recognizes those that excel in their corporate-wide compliance with OFCCP's requirements," said Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Director Craig Leen. "The program will also provide a path for companies who are close to excellence but want individualized compliance assistance from OFCCP to reach the top level. The program is part of a broader effort by OFCCP to find innovative ways for ensuring federal contractors comply with equal employment opportunity laws corporate-wide."

In November 2018, OFCCP issued a separate directive establishing early resolution procedures to allow OFCCP and contractors with multiple establishments to cooperatively resolve compliance reviews while achieving corporate-wide compliance with OFCCP's requirements.

OFCCP expects to begin accepting VERP applications in the fall.

OFCCP enforces Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. Collectively, these laws prohibit federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. Additionally, contractors must act affirmatively to ensure equal employment opportunity in their employment processes, and they must not discriminate against applicants or employees because they inquire about, discuss, or disclose their compensation or that of others, subject to certain limitations. For more information, please call OFCCP's toll-free helpline at 800-397-6251 or visit http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/.

The Office of Compliance Initiatives (OCI) is part of the Department of Labor's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, and fosters a compliance assistance culture within the Department designed to complement its ongoing enforcement efforts. This Office focuses on helping enforcement agencies more effectively use online resources to deliver information and compliance assistance to help the American people. In August 2018, OCI launched Worker.gov and Employer.gov to provide information about workers' rights and the responsibilities of job creators toward their workers.